When I was researching the military's passionate effort to embrace
renewable energy and sustainable operations, I was thrilled. Thrilled,
not only because I knew military investment in renewable
technology would help kick-start mainstream adoption of clean technology, but, also, because here was a strong argument, finally, that renewable energy naysayers and climate change skeptics might actually listen to. If the red, white, and blue armed forces are going
green and seriously worried about climate change, well then, maybe
global
warming and the whole "green thing" is not just some liberal conspiracy
or eco nonsense from left wing environmentalists.

Energy Bulletin's "The Real Reason the Military is Going Green" reported that the Department of Defense first acknowledged climate change
as a factor in its operations in a 2010 report in the Quadrennial Defense Review. The report stated:
“Climate change may act as an accelerant of instability or conflict,
placing a burden to respond on civilian institutions and militaries
around the world."

The excellent Energy Bulletin piece featured retired Brigadier General Steven Anderson who calls himself “an accidental environmentalist.” His epiphany about climate change began with a tactical
problem in Iraq.The Brigadier General coordinated the transport of millions of gallons
of fuel across Iraq to power everything from vehicles to the
large compressors used to cool individual tents. He was taking one
casualty for every 24 fuel convoys, and he was conducting 18 convoys a day.
That’s one casualty every other day. He needed to get the trucks off the
road. He needed to find a way to reduce the military’s fuel use and integrate solar PV and other alternative power sources into his base of operation.

Granted, the initial thrust of the military going green might have been
to protect soldiers, not to save the environment. But, saving lives is, ultimately,what saving the environment is all about.

Why should our own soldiers risk their lives because they have to haul barrels of oil around hostile territory when there are safer, cleaner ways to power their operations?The thought of not questioning the paradigm is as illogical as it is idiotic.

Unfortunately, some of our less enlightened Congressional leaders seem to think they know better than the the military brass. In February, Republican Representative Randy Forbes from Virginia had
the audacity to
pound his desk after Secretary of the Navy Raymond Mabus
Jr. explained some of the Navy’s plans for going greener during a House
Armed
Services Committee Meeting. Forbes chided Mabus: “You’re not the Secretary of the Energy—you’re Secretary of the Navy.”

InU.S. Military's Green Energy Criticized By Congress,NPR reported the White House and military brass are calling
for the development of alternative energy. One goal is cutting
dependence on foreign sources. Another is reducing the carbon footprint
of the largest fossil fuel consumer in the world.

Sharon Burke, assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs, called
biofuels and alternative fuels “sustainable and reliable” ways the
United States can accomplish the defense mission.“Energy
security is about international stability and prosperity and that is
fundamentally an issue of national security,” Burke said. And, the Defense Department is implementing new forms of energy without destabilizing the existing infrastructure. Burke explained: “We’re looking
for fuels that are compatible with our existing equipment and storage
infrastructure and a cost-competitive alternative fuels market.”There are more and more people in the private sector who get that going green by implementing use of alternative fuels, renewable technology and taking action to mitigate climate change is as much about security as saving the environment. This includes Alex Wilson, founder of BuildingGreen, who recently launched the Resilient Design Institute to study ways to make our homes and communities more resilient and better prepared for natural disasters and potential disruptions in energy and food supplies in the future.

But, some on
Capitol Hill are blocking the military's efforts to develop a green program.The NPR host, Audie Cornish, said:"Now, one of the program's biggest critics is Senator John McCain. He
argues that the President is using the military to pursue a green
agenda."

What is wrong Senator McCain with the President of the United States of
America, our Commander in Chief, helping the military to save soldiers' lives, reduce security
threats, all the while pursuing an environmentally friendly, green
agenda which the military itself was already embracing wholeheartedly?

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Until recently Paul was the Green Advocate for New York House magazine where he wrote three monthly columns. He is currently a contributing writer to EcoWatch.

Paul is a green home building and renovation consultant and real estate broker active in New York State. He taught the class Green Home Building and Renovation at SUNY in Ulster County, New York. He is working with his business partners at New York Real Estate Group to establish a grid independent farm community upstate New York. All content copyright Paul E McGinniss. Content Edited by Josephs S Walker Jr. You can email Paul at info@thenewyorkgreenadvocate.com

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